Snake in a Lion's Den
by WannabeSlytherinPrincess
Summary: This is the story of Lily Luna Potter and the trials and tribulations of her years at Hogwarts.
1. The Sorting

When I first started at Hogwarts, I never expected to be sorted into Slytherin, but that's exactly what happened. My family's reaction was less than satisfactory because they stared at me as if I were Voldemort himself, and I felt completely isolated from everyone at my respective table even though they had clapped for me like I just won the Quidditch World Cup. However, it wasn't too long before a girl named Isabella started talking to me.

"Hi! Glad to see another first-year Slytherin girl. My name is Isabella Marx, what's yours?" she asked with a bubbly tone.

"Hi Isabella, my name is Lily Potter", I smiled. She stared at me, wide-eyed.

"As in... Harry Potter's daughter?" she questioned, clearly stunned.

"The one and only", I confirmed.

"Wow! A Potter in Slytherin? Never heard of that before"

"I'm just as shocked as you are"

"A Potter in Slytherin? That's new", a male voice stated and I immediately recognized who it was as he slid in next to Isabella.

"A Malfoy in Slytherin? Somehow, I'm not surprised", I smirked and none other than Scorpius Malfoy smirked back.

"Very cheeky of you, Miss Potter. I presume you know who I am", he stated, still smirking.

"Well, judging by the blonde hair, grey eyes, and general cockiness, I'd say you're Scorpius Malfoy", it was at this point that Isabella started paying a great deal of attention to him, but Scorpius didn't notice and just laughed.

"That's right", he confirmed, "Now if you're a Potter, what's with the orange hair?"

"I'm also a Weasley"

"Double threat. Nice to meet you, Lily", he then casually stuck out his hand and I gladly shook it, truly intrigued by him. He didn't seem as bad as my brothers had always led me to believe, despite the fact that he was very cocky.

"Do you know my older sister? She's in your year", Isabella suddenly interupted, turning toward Scorpius.

"And your name?" he asked.

"Isabella Marx"

"Ah, your sister must be Hadley"

"Yeah", she confirmed dreamily. It was fairly obvious that Isabella had a bit of a crush on Scorpius, even though she'd seen him only moments before. After the sorting and dinner was over, I followed the rest of the Slytherin first years to the dungeons with Isabella by my side. As it turns out, she was my roommate along with two other girls named Hannah Snowdon and Felicite Tomlinson. Throughout the night, the four of us talked about what we liked to do, what our families were like, which house we thought we'd be sorted into, and other things like that. I learned that each of us had at least one sibling, Felicite having the most at six. Just as we were all about to go to bed, Isabella (now known as Izzy) spoke up.

"Have you girls seen Scorpius Malfoy? He's even cuter than my sister described!" she gushed.

"I know! My older sister said he was the cutest third year boy and was she right!" Felicite added.

"Who's Scorpius Malfoy?" Hannah asked no one in particular. Both Izzy and Felicite turned to her, their eyes wide.

"You've never heard of the Malfoy's?" Izzy questioned.

"I've heard of them, I just didn't know we went to school with one"

"Of course we do! He's only the cutest boy in the entire school, nevermind among the third years", Felicite clarified.

"Imagine how hot he'll be come next year", Izzy winked. As the two of them gossiped about Scorpius, Hannah and I remained quiet. That is until Izzy suddenly turned to me.

"I think he was hitting on you tonight, Lily", she giggled. I stared at her questioningly.

"I highly doubt that. I'm two years younger than him and he doesn't even know me", I justified, but Izzy wasn't having it.

"Did you not see how he looked at you? He barely even noticed I was there!"

"Probably because I challenged him"

"Well, still. I think he has a thing for you", once Izzy and Felicite finished their conversation, the four of us went to bed in order to be alert for our first day of classes the next morning.

When I woke up, I was excited to start my first classes at Hogwarts. The day went by fairly quickly and I realized that my favorite classes were Potions and Transfiguration, but my true love was flying. I was the first in my class to pick up my broom and mount it, as well as fly around before everyone else. I had never flown before, but always wanted to and had seen James fly. Even though I didn't think what I did in flying class was that great, everyone else seemed to because when I sat down in the Great Hall for lunch, I felt as if everyone was looking at me.

"I heard you flew pretty well today", Scorpius stated as he sat next to me.

"You did?" I questioned, curious.

"Yeah. In fact, I also heard that you're being considered for the Quidditch team", my eyes widened at this.

"You... you're serious?"

"Completely. Madame Hooch thinks you'd be a great chaser, and I hope you make the team. We're in need of a new one"

"That's right, I almost forgot that you're on the team. My brothers told me Slytherin hasn't lost a game since you joined", he smirked victoriously at this, clearly proud of himself.

"Glad to see they know how to admit defeat. James apparently isn't as good as he likes to think", I wanted to agree seeing as I couldn't deny how good Scorpius is, but James is still my brother, so I just smiled.

Throughout the rest of lunch, I got to know Scorpius a lot better and quickly realized that my brothers were all wrong about him. While he may be cocky and sometimes a little vain, Scorpius actually has a lot of redeeming qualities to him. Besides playing Quidditch, he also loves to read, play chess, and spends a lot of time outdoors just appreciating everything around him. He also told me that he has quite the knack for drawing, but doesn't do it much at school because he doesn't want to be judged for being anything other than an athlete. He learned a lot about me as well, which felt weird to me because I didn't even tell my roommates everything about me, yet I felt strangely comfortable with Scorpius.

When he was distracted by his food for a moment, I turned to look over at the Gryffindor table and saw my family sitting together. They consisted of James, Albus, Rose, and Hugo.

"I'll be right back", I stated, standing up to walk over to my family. On the way there, I felt a lot of eyes on me, but ignored them.

"Hi guys", I smiled once I was standing in front of them at the end of the Gryffindor table. They said nothing and continued eating in silence. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if they had heard me.

"Hello?" I tried again and still got no response. In fact, it took several seconds before James finally spoke up.

"Why don't you go talk to your new snake friends?" he snapped. I was instantly taken aback by this, not expecting for him to say such a thing to his own sister. I thought this would make me cry, but tears never came to my eyes. Instead, I stood up straight and stated,

"Fine, that's exactly what I'll do", before stalking away and back to my seat next to Scorpius.

"Well, that didn't go so well, did it?" he questioned.

"My family are a bunch of gits!" I exclaimed, extremely frustrated. His face softened then and he put his arm around my shoulders for a side hug.

"It'll be okay, Lily. They'll get over it", he assured, but I didn't feel so sure about that.

The next morning, Scorpius was right about one thing and that was that I made it onto the Quidditch team! I no longer had to take my flying class because of it, but that was fine with me because I always loved watching Quidditch and now I would be able to play it. As soon as Scorpius found out, he looked for me and found me in the Slytherin common room with Izzy.

"Congratulations, Lily! I just heard you got on the team", he stated, sliding next to me on the black leather couch.

"Thanks, Scorpius", I smiled, "I'm really excited"

"As you should be. Get ready though, next week is tryouts and then the following Wednesday is the first practice"

"Thanks for the heads-up. Do I have to go to the tryouts?"

"You don't really have to, but it is fun watching some people fail miserabley at trying to get a spot", he smirked, something that I was quickly getting used to.

"Hi, Scorpius. How are you?" Izzy suddenly asked, making me stifle a giggle because she made it so obvious that she liked him. Scorpius turned to her and smiled knowingly.

"I'm just fine, Isabella. How are you?" Izzy's eyes widened and I had to hold off my laughter again.

"I-I'm great! Thanks for asking", she had that dreamy sound to her voice again, and I could tell Scorpius was holding in his laughter as well.

"Well, congrats again Lily and I'll see you girls later", he winked before standing up and walking to the boys' dormitories. Once he was gone, Izzy looked back to make sure he was out of ear-shot before turning back to me.

"He remembered my name!" she screeched, hurting my ears. This time, I couldn't keep myself from laughing, "What's so funny?" she questioned, sounding hurt.

"I'm sorry, Izzy. It's just... you make it kind of obvious that you like him", I stated, my laughter fading.

"I... I do?"

"Yes"

"Oh, man! I never wanted him to know!" she exclaimed, burying her face in her hands and shaking her head.

"Don't worry, Izzy. He's a nice guy, he'd never say anything", I assured her, gently rubbing her back.


	2. New Friends and a Letter

My first week of classes went by equally as fast as my first day and my family was stil ignoring me. Then again, I didn't bother making any sort of advancement to talk to them myself, but why would I? They hurt my feelings and basically pushed me out of their circle. All just because I was a Slytherin and made some new friends. However, whether they were talking to me or not, a new week was ahead of me and that meant tryouts for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Even though I didn't feel watching people fail would be fun like Scorpius did, I figured I might as well go. When I got to the field, Scorpius was already there with a friend of his.

"Oh, good to see you decided to come, Lily. This is my friend, Lars Goyle", he introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Lily. Welcome to the team, as well", Lars smiled, shaking my hand.

"Thank you, I'm glad to be a part of it", I stated.

"You came right on time, tryouts are just beginning", Scorpius said, looking out on the field.

"Oh! I should get out there", Lars exclaimed, running onto the field.

"You're not going out there?" I questioned Scorpius, confused.

"I have a guarenteed spot", he confirmed with his famous smirk.

Throughout the tryouts, there were five or more people who didn't make the team because they were so bad. However, the team gained two successful new chasers and a new beater. Scorpius and Lars were really happy with the results, especially Lars seeing as he retained his spot as a beater. I felt bad for those who didn't make the team, but did find it sort of amusing that some of them were horrible at the positions they were trying out for.

"You would think those people would know how bad they are and not even bother trying out", Scorpius chuckled on our way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I know! Honestly, it's like they're too stupid to know any better", Lars agreed. I nodded, knowing they were both probably right. Once we got to lunch, the three of us sat down at the end of the Slytherin table and began to eat. I listened as Scorpius and Lars talked about the upcoming Quidditch season, excitement taking over me as I thought about what it would be like to play myself. After all, I had only ever watched, but knew everything there was to know about the game. This was mostly due to James and Albus talking about it incessantly. When my brothers came to mind, I stopped thinking about Quidditch and started thinking about the way my family had been treating me. It was as if I were never even born a Potter!

"You okay, Lily?" Scorpius asked suddenly. I hadn't even noticed that a few tears had escaped my eyes, so I quickly wiped them away and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine", I lied, knowing fully well he would probably catch on. Another tear slipped down my cheek and before I could wipe it away myself, Scorpius did so with his thumb.

"Come on, let's talk", he offered, standing up and leading me out of the Great Hall. We walked in silence until we got to the entrance of the Slytherin common room. Scorpius whispered the password to the portrait of Salazar Slytherin, instantly allowing us entrance.

Luckily, no one else was there so that we could talk in private. As I sat on one of the couches, Scorpius sat across from me in a black leather chair. It was silent between us for several seconds before Scorpius sat on the edge of the chair to face me better.

"Alright, talk", he instructed. I didn't even know how to start, so I just sighed. A few more seconds when by before I decided to spill my heart out.

"It's so frustrating! My family is treating me like I don't even exist! All I've done is get sorted into Slytherin, which wasn't my decision, and make some new friends with other Slytherins! What do they expect from me? To be a loner? To only talk to them? I just don't understand!" Scorpius' eyes widened at my sudden outburst, and so did mine because I honestly hadn't expected to be so open with him. After a moment or so, he spoke.

"I'm sorry you're family is being so difficult, Lily. You haven't done anything to deserve it. If they want to be prejudice about which house you're in, then my advice would be to let them be that way. Besides, what is there to do about it? If anything, you should be proud of your house and be happy with having new friends. You're here to learn and become a successful witch, not make others happy", I nodded in response, realizing that he was right.

"Thanks, Scor. I honestly wasn't expecting you to be so... empathetic", he raised an eyebrow and I felt bad that I had basically just insulted him, but then he laughed.

"I suppose your brothers brought that to your attention?" he questioned.

"Yeah..." I admitted, looking down at my feet.

"No worries, I know your brothers aren't exactly my biggest fans. Therefore, I like to take my own advice and not let it bother me. After all, I can beat them both on the Quidditch pitch any time", his cocky smirk actually made me smile. I was more than glad to have a friend that gave good advice and also took it in stride.

Later that day at dinner, I was talking with Izzy about Potions class from earlier when I felt a presence behind me. I stopped talking and turned slowly, only to see James standing there with a furious look on his face.

"Can we talk?" he growled.

"I don't see why we should", I commented, putting Scorpius' advice into use.

"Now, Lily", he ground out. Instead of making him angrier, I simply rolled my eyes and got up to follow him outside the hall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he questioned once we were out.

"What do you mean? I was just having a simple conversation about Potions-"

"Not that. What are you doing talking to a _Malfoy_?"

"He happens to be a friend of mine. Is that a problem?"

"It's a big problem!" suddenly, the whole Great Hall went silent and I wanted nothing more than to tell them all to mind their own business.

"Are you even listening to me?" James questioned before continuing his rant, "Malfoy is no good! He's nothing but a conniving snake and will only bring you down!" at this point, I stopped caring about what everyone else thought and turned to face James.

"You listen to me, Jame Sirius Potter. I'll be friends with whoever I like and if you really knew Scorpius, you would think differently", as soon as I finished, I stalked back into the Great Hall and to where I had been sitting between Izzy and Hannah. Luckily, Scorpius hadn't been there to hear anything. However, he did hear about what happened.

"So, I heard about your little mishap with your brother at dinner tonight", he smirked, clearly satisfied that he bothered James so much.

"Oh, did you? Well, don't worry. I told him off", I assured with a victorious smile.

"I heard that, too. Thank you, by the way, for standing up for me", I was a bit shocked by this because I hadn't expected a Malfoy to be thankful to someone, but Scorpius seemed to be full of surprises.

"No problem. He shouldn't be talking about you like that, anyway. He knows absolutely nothing about you", I complained, still a little upset about the whole thing. Who did James think he was, talking bad about people he didn't even know?

"I'm used to it by now, Lily. You're brother has always had something against me", the way he said this seemed a bit arrogant, not sad like it probably should have. Somehow, I knew that no matter how much he pretended not to, Scorpius cared a great deal about what others thought of him.

Time went by seemingly very slow for the rest of that week, and I firmly believe that it was because I was so excited to begin the Quidditch season. When the time came around, Scorpius and I were the first ones out on the field. I couldn't stop smiling as I stepped onto the grass and took in my surroundings. The pitch was massive, but I couldn't wait to fly high above it.

"Ready for this, Lily?" Scorpius asked as he too observed the pitch.

"I was born ready", I mocked, but I most likely was seeing as both my mom and dad played Quidditch when they were in school. As we walked further onto the pitch, the rest of the players began to show up. Seeing all the older players, I started to get a bit nervous. After all, I was the only first-year there and the only girl. Scorpius must have sensed my nervousness because he gently placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lil", he began, "They won't bother you", even with his reassurance, I felt as though they would. I figured that because I was a first-year, they would treat me as though I didn't even belong on the team. However, I felt determined to prove them wrong.

As soon as I got into the air, I waited impatiently for the captain to tell us what we were to do first. His orders were to have the chasers practice getting the quaffle through the hoops with the keepers blocking them. I took this as an opportunity to prove myself, which I did successfully. I was able to get the quaffle through each of the hoops every time I went for it, stifling the other team members.

"Damn, Potter. I didn't think you'd be that good", one of the keepers, Mark Pucey, commented.

"Maybe you should have expected a little more from me", I smirked as I floated over towards Scorpius.

"Nice job, Lily", he smiled, patting my back once. For the rest of the three hour practice, I kept surprising everyone with how fast and swiftly I could fly, as well as my chaser abilities. The captain, Sean Marstan, was very pleased with how well I played and even told me that I'd make a great captain someday.

At lunch, I sat with everyone on the team and we talked about how great the upcoming season would be. From how animatedly Scorpius spoke, I could tell just how much Quidditch meant to him. I knew he'd been flying from a young age and his father would help him practice being a seeker at home, so it was clear that he was meant to be Slytherin's seeker from the start. Through the short amount of time that I knew Scorpius, I was finding out a lot more about him than I thought possible. I had always pictured him as an arrogant Pureblood who hates muggle-borns and even half-bloods like myself. However, he's not so arrogant and seems to care less about bood status. Just as I thought this, Scorpius turned to me and smiled.

"Thinking hard again, Lily?" he questioned.

"Yeah... how'd you know?" I wondered, one eyebrow raised.

"You get this look on your face when you're in deep thought", he clarified. I didn't think I had a look at all, nevermind a specific one.

After lunch, I went up to my room and walked in to find Hannah writing something.

"What are you doing, Hannah?" I asked as I climbed onto my bed.

"Writing to my mum", she smiled, which made me suddenly realize that I hadn't written to my parents since I got to school. So I got up and immediately went over to my desk to grab some parchment and a quill, and began writing. My letter went like this:

Dear Mum and Dad,

So sorry I haven't written to either of you, I've just been rather busy with my school work and Quidditch. Which brings me to the first thing I have to tell you; I made the Quidditch team as a chaser! Just like you, mum! I did so well in my first flying class that they decided to put me on the team. The second thing that I have to tell you is that- please don't be dissapointed- I was sorted into Slytherin. I've actually made a few new friends and they're all just lovely. My favorite class is Potions, but I also have a soft spot for Transfiguration. My professors say that I'm the best in their classes! Well, that's about all I have to tell you for now. I'll be sure to write again soon!

Love from your daughter,

Lily

Once I was finished with my letter, I whistled for my owl Tawney to come. She showed up only seconds later at my window, lowering her head slightly for me to pet her. I did so and then tied the letter to her leg, telling her to bring it to my parents.


	3. Insight

The day after I sent my letter, I was at lunch when my owl came into the Great Hall and dropped off a letter from my parents. I swallowed loudly, fearing what they would say about me being sorted into Slytherin. As a result of my fear, I slowly opened the envelope and just as slowly unfolded the parchment. Thankfully, it wasn't a howler, just a normal looking letter. It read:

Dear Lily Luna,

Your father and I are so proud of you! Congratulations on making the Quidditch team your first year! Don't worry sweetheart, we could never be dissapointed in such a thing. Slytherin has gained a wonderful young lady and we know you'll do just as well as if you had been in any other house. No matter what, your father and I will always be proud of you, flower. As for your classes, we're so glad you enjoy them and it's wonderful what your professors had to say. Not much has been going on here at home, but we miss you dearly. Be sure to write back sooner this time!

All our love,

Mum and Dad

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Their acceptance meant so much to me, as well as their pride in me.

"Who wrote you, Lily?" Scorpius asked, seeing my large smile.

"My parents. They said Slytherin has gained a wonderful young lady", I beamed.

"Really? Do you have a sister because I don't see any new wonderful young lady Slytherins around?", he joked, and I gently elbowed his arm.

"Ha ha, very funny", I rolled my eyes, making him laugh. After lunch, I went straight to Astronomy with Hannah and Izzy. The class went by increasingly slow, but I didn't mind too much because the lesson was actually fairly interesting. As soon as class was over, however, I went straight outside to enjoy the sunshine that I had seen filtering in through the window in Astronomy. Stepping outside made me smile from the warmth and beauty of the outdoors. I decided to go for a walk around campus, breathing in the wonderful smell of grass. Growing up, I had always loved to be outside, whether it was to play or just appreciate what was around me.

While walking, I looked over toward the lake and saw a lean figure sitting in the grass facing it. I immediately recognized the person as Scorpius because of his white-blonde hair that reflected off the sun, as well as his Slytherin robes. As I walked over to him, he didn't seem to notice my presence, so I jumped on his back to scare him. Unfortunately, he barely moved and didn't even turn to look at me.

"I knew it was you, Lily", he smirked.

"Darn, I was hoping I would scare you", I admitted, sitting down next to him. He said nothing more, just snuck a look at me before looking back over the lake.

"Is everything okay?" I questioned, worried about his almost vacant stare and lack of response. It took him a few seconds to speak.

"Yes, everything is fine. I'm just... thinking", I had a feeling there was something more, but didn't want to pressure him into talking to me if that's not what he wanted. We sat there in silence for a while before I realized that I was going to be late for my next class.

"We have to get to our classes, Scor", I reminded him as I stood up and wiped the grass from my skirt.

"I'll make it there", he stated without looking away from the lake. I trusted that he would eventually, so I just said goodbye and sprinted to Defense Against the Dark Arts. All through class, I couldn't focus on what the professor was saying because the only thing on my mind was what could have made Scorpius so... quiet. Whatever it was, I planned to find out so that he wouldn't have to deal with it on his own.

As soon as class finished, I made my way down to the Slytherin common room to look for Scorpius. He wasn't there, so I asked another Slytherin fifth year if he had seen him and if not, could he lead me to the third year boys dorms? Luckily, he was nice enough to bring me to the dorms after telling me he hadn't seen Scorpius. We went right to Scorpius' door and I thanked the fifth year before knocking on it. When I didn't get an answer right away, I tried again before I could hear Scorpius say, "Just a minute". I waited for exactly one minute before he opened the door.

"Oh, hi Lily. I wasn't expecting it to be you", he admitted, stepping aside to let me into his room. As I stepped inside, I noticed that he had only two roommates and instantly knew which bed was his just from the Quidditch gear leaning against the bed post.

"Sorry I showed up so randomly, I just wanted to see how you were and couldn't find you", I apologized, still gazing around the room.

"That's okay", he smiled, "Here, sit down", he offered, pulling out a comfortable looking chair for me. I sat down and found myself not wanting to get out of the chair any time soon.

"So... how are you?" I asked as I got situated. When I finally faced him again, I noticed that he looked a bit distraught.

"I'm just fine, Lily. How are you?" from his quick response, I knew there was something much deeper that he was hiding.

"I'm not here to talk about me, Scor. I know there's something bothering you", I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I was worried about him. Even though I hadn't known him for long, for the time that I had, he'd always been so high-spirited. He stared at me for a moment, blinking once.

"I really don't think you want to hear it, Lily", he eventually stated, looking away from me and down at the floor as he sat on his bed.

"I know we haven't been friends long, but I do want to know what's bothering you. That's what a good friend does, after all", he smiled for a moment before sighing.

"Well, if you really want to know, I've been having some family problems", I wasn't sure what to say, so I just waited for him to continue. He looked up at me with sad eyes before he did, "I got a letter from my grandfather yesterday, saying that he's upset with me for associating with muggles and half-bloods. He thinks I need to be more like a Malfoy and hold my blood status to a higher authority. I didn't want to say anything because for one, I usually don't. Two, I didn't want you or anyone else to feel insulted", as I took all this in, he seemed to get a bit fidgety.

"Scorpius, I honestly would be more insulted if you told me yourself that you shouldn't be associating with muggles and half-bloods. Your grandfather, from what I know and what you just told me, seems to be stuck in the old days. That's nothing against you, especially because I know that you're a good person", he smiled as I finished talking, making me smile in return.

"That means a lot, Lily. I've never wanted to be anything like my grandfather, so I've always tried my best to avoid it. But even without trying, I know I was born different from him. Believe it or not, my parents and especially my father raised me to be accepting of all types of people", hearing this made me further realize just how wrong my brothers were about Scorpius. Just because he's the son of an ex-Death Eater doesn't mean he has to be like his father once was.

"I wonder how he knows about that?" I questioned, truly curious.

"I'm not sure, he just said and I quote, 'I heard you've been associating with-'" he paused for a second, 'Mudbloods and Half-Bloods'. So I really don't know how he could have found out, but it doesn't really matter because what my grandfather has to say means nothing to me"

"It must mean something if it upset you so much", I accdientally pondered outloud.

"Well, it does bother me that he still can't accept people no matter what blood status they are. I mean, I have a few friends that are half-bloods and grew up playing with muggles whenever I went on holiday. I guess that's why I couldn't stop thinking about it", it was at this point that I realized Scorpius was telling me more than he'd probably ever told anyone before.

"That makes sense, it bothers me when my brothers talk badly about Purebloods. Especially now that I know they aren't so bad", I smiled. He smiled in return and sat up straighter.

"Thank you, Lily. You really helped a lot", he assured, and I took his word for it.


	4. First Win

After Scorpius and I had a heart-to-heart, we started spending more time together than just during Quidditch practice or at meal times. In fact, he soon became my closest friend. Sure I had also gotten close to my three roommates, but I found things different when I was around Scorpius. He's just so easy to talk to and gives great advice. Whenever I was feeling particularly low about my family situation, I went straight to him for reassurance or even just a laugh. That's another great thing about him; he knows how to make you smile without trying too hard. He also gives me pointers in Quidditch if I need them. I usually don't, but he can tell when I get confused, so he'll automatically make sure that I understand what's going on. So when it was time for the first game of the season, Scorpius made sure that I was as prepared as possible.

"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked for the tenth time as we walked into the guys locker room.

"I'm absolutely positive", I giggled, amused by how concerned he seemed to be. Although, I was also thankful for it.

"I just want to make sure. This is your first game and I don't want you to get overwhelmed"

"Trust me, Scor. If I started to get overwhelmed, you'll be the first person I tell", I assured, making him smile. We then sat down on one of the metal benches and listened closely to what Sean was saying.

"Alright, guys- and girl", he winked in my direction, "This is our first game and of course to start off, we have to kick some Gryffindor ass", this caused an erruption of cheers from everyone, "Now, here's our game plan: I want as much rough action out there as possible. That means I want to see chasers taking as many chances to get the quaffle through those hoops as you can, even if it means shoving your opponents out of the way. Same goes for beaters, get out there and don't have mercy. If a Gryffindork gets hurt in the process, so be it. John, I want some quick moves to assure that no Gryffindor gains them points. Scorpius, I don't think I need to remind you, but keep a close eye on that snitch and don't grab it too fast. We need as many points as we can get before the end. Good luck everyone and let's beat some Gryffindors!" once he finished, everyone cheered again and started for the door.

At this point, my heart began to beat extremely fast and it felt as though it would beat right out of my chest. Scorpius, however, seemed calm and ready to fly.

"How can you be so calm before a game like this?" I asked.

"Easily, I know we're sure to win", just as he said this, the announcer called us out and we all stopped to mount our brooms before flying out onto the pitch. As we circled around once, Slytherin house cheered as loudly as they possibly could. I heard a few 'Go Lily!'s from the stands, but mostly heard 'Go Scorpius!' As it turned out, the Ravenclaws were hoping for a Slytherin win that day as they were chanting for us. Once we were hovering just above the ground, the Gryffindor team flew out, led by Albus. My smile dissapeared and as I looked over at Scorpius, I saw that his did as well. He continually glared at Albus and then James when he too saw the cocky look on James' face.

"Better watch out for your brothers, Lily", Lars commented, "I heard they're extra determined to beat us this year", I simply rolled my eyes, knowing the only reason my brothers were like that was because I was now on the team.

"Don't worry, Lars. I can handle them", I assured, looking back up just as James and Albus high-fived each other.

As the game began, I started to get nervous about if I would do as well during a game as I had during practices. I would certainly be tested because as amazing as the Slytherin team had been, Gryffindor was right behind them compared to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams. However, Slytherin ended up pulling ahead time and time again. This game was no different. At first, it was difficult for me to get past the Gryffindor players, but I eventually out-smarted them long enough to score some points. In the first twenty minutes, we scored thirty points with me bringing in twenty of those. The game went on for another half an hour before we gathered up enough points for Scorpius to be able to go for the snitch. The whole time he was waiting, I could see from the corner of my eye that he was searching everywhere just to make sure the snitch remained in his sight.

When Sean gave him the okay to catch it, he dove straight for it and it didn't take long before Albus followed Scorpius. I scored us another ten points before I saw that Scorpius and Albus were flying right next to each other with the snitch straight ahead, zigzaging as a distraction. I wanted to keep watching, but knew that if I did, we might lose. James noticed the two of them as well.

"You snakes will never win this game!" he yelled to me, another cocky smirk plastered on his face. I simply rolled my eyes, then helped the other chaser to score twenty more points before a whistle was blown, signaling the end of the game. My breath hitched in my throat as I waited for what seemed like ages before the announcer finally exclaimed, "Slytherin wins!" I heard two boos from the Gryffindor stands before they were all drowned out by the loud cheering coming from the Slytherin stands. I looked back over to James and laughed at the angry look on his face.

As Scorpius flew back over to the rest of us, he got high fives from everyone, including me. When we got back to the locker room, Sean looked extremely proud.

"You lot have no idea how much this win means to me and the whole house. I don't think I could be prouder of what we've accomplished today, but that will be tested when we win the house cup", a round of cheers errupted, "So really, all I want to say is keep your heads high and we'll be sure to remain successful", and with that, Sean let us all go our own ways. That is, I left for the girls locker room so that the guys could shower and get changed. Once we were all clean and dressed, I followed the guys to the Slytherin common room to celebrate.

"Be prepared, Lil. Slytherins really know how to celebrate", Scorpius warned with a smile. The second the team and I walked in, a chorus of 'Slytherin!' chants welcomed us and I was instantly congratulated by people I had never even talked to before. I sat on one of the couches to take in all the positive energy when I looked to my right and noticed that Scorpius was surrounded by a whole group of excited girls. I laughed to myself, having never realized what a lady's man Scorpius was. Lars noticed me watching and sat down next to me with a butterbeer in his hand.

"This happens every time we win; girls his age and younger gather around him to tell him how great he is, while the older girls wish they weren't older so that they could have a chance with him. They're sitting over there, seething with jealousy", he chuckled, pointing to the other side of the common room where another group of girls sat with jealousy-induced faces as they stared over at Scorpius. I couldn't help but laugh loudly, catching the attention of a few people.

"Doesn't he get tired of them if this happens after every win?" I questioned Lars.

"Probably. I mean, would you want a bunch of first years swarming you if you were a third year?" I shook my head no, looking back over at Scorpius just as he excused himself from the group of girls and made his way over to Lars and I.

"Those girls are too much", he sighed, taking a seat beside me.

"I don't know, man. You seem to enjoy it", Lars snickered.

"I would if the majority of them were actually my age..." Scorpius admitted, rolling his eyes.

After the party, I went straight to bed and fell asleep rather quickly with a smile on my face. Not only did we win our first game, but we won it against Gryffindor! Throughout the night, I had dreams about winning more games and those eventually led to a dream of winning the house cup. In the morning, I woke up with a smile as well and got dressed while humming to myself. Whenever I'm extremely happy, I tend to do things such as humming or full-on singing and it takes a lot to ruin my happiness. So when I went to eat breakfast, my smile lasted and Scorpius was the first to notice.

"Glad to see you're so... smiley", he chuckled.

"Well, I should be. We won our first game!" I reminded him, but knew he didn't need the reminding.

"Oh, I know. I was there, remember?" he joked, lightly elbowing my arm. I playfully rolled my eyes as I reached for a slice of bread.

Once finished eating, I said goodbye to my friends and walked to Potions. On my way there, I wasn't paying attention and accidentally walked into someone, casuing us both to drop our books.

"Sorry about that, I w-" I began as I bent to retrieve my books, but was quickly interupted.

"Watch it, snake", a male's voice hissed. I looked up, recognizing them as my own brother, Albus. Before I even got the chance to respond, he finished picking up his books and quickly walked away. Anger instantly boiled within me as I stood and stalked off to Potions.


	5. Pranks

Needless to say, my day was ruined after the incident with Albus and it took some reassurance from Scorpius for me to smile again. At this point, I was through with my brothers treating me badly, so I decided to do something about it. Instead of confronting them like I probably should have, I chose to play a prank on them and see what happened. I didn't want to get anyone involved and risk someone else getting in trouble if I got caught, so I thought of something myself. My plan was this: I would sneak around after my second to last class to find out where James and Albus were headed, then set jinxes on them. James was first, so I watched him walk into the Potions classroom and waited for the class to start before making my move. I chose to use the Langlock jinx, which would cause his tongue to be stuck to the roof of his mouth. Maybe then he would learn not to talk trash.

A minute or so after the class started, I quietly snuck over to the slightly open door and pointed my wand at James. I whispered 'Langlock' and waited for him to realize what had happened. Only seconds later, his eyes widened and his hands flew to his throat. He started moaning loudly, clearly trying to speak but unable to. I started laughing to myself, covering my mouth with my hands so as to avoid anyone hearing. The professor turned to James when he heard him making noise.

"Mr. Potter, what is the meaning of this?" the professor questioned, walking over to James as he pointed into his mouth. The professor's eyes went wide as well and just before he could escort James out, I quickly ran down the hall and to the next corridor to find Albus' class. It took me maybe fifteen minutes, but I soon found it and decided on a curse instead of a jinx. I waited until his class was over to do it, which caused me to sit outside the door for a good hour or so.

Finally, the class was over and I hid in a corner and pointed my wand at Albus. It took me a second to get up the courage to try such a difficult curse, but decided that if I was going to do it, I'd better get it done quick. So I pointed my wand again and did the wand movement, whispered 'Locomotor Mortis', and Albus instantly fell to the ground with his legs stuck together. I accidentally laughed outloud, but luckily I was drowned out by everyone else's laughter. I continued to watch as Albus struggled to stand back up, but to no avail. Eventually, two Gryffindors stopped to help him up and he stood in one place, wobbling a bit. I continued to laugh to myself as he hobbled away with his fellow house mates.

Afterwards, I went straight to the dungeons to get to the Slytherin common room. Once I entered, I headed toward the boys' dormitories and knocked on Scorpius' door. He let me in and I immediately delved into my story of how I got revenge on my brothers. As soon as I finished talking, he burst into hysterics and complained of his stomach hurting from laughing so hard.

"The only question I have is how you managed such a complicated curse?" he mentioned once he had calmed down enough to speak.

"It took reading over how to do it dozens of times, then actually trying it out on Albus. I'm still surprised that I was actually able to do it", I admitted. He nodded and smirked.

"Very Slytherin of you, Miss Lily", he complimented, making me smile with pride not only in myself, but in my house.

The next morning was a Saturday, so I slept in until nine o'clock before getting up for breakfast. When I arrived in the Great Hall, I heard several Slytherins commenting on how whoever jinxed and cursed the Potters was a genius. I had to smile to myself. After all, how often is it that someone calls you a genius?

"Lily, come here!" Izzy called to me as I made my way to the end of the Slytherin table.

"What's up?" I asked once I sat down next to her.

"It's been going around that Scorpius put a jinx and a curse on your brothers yesterday", my eyes widened, wondering how someone could just automatically assume that it was Scorpius who did those things.

"That wasn't Scorpius", I clarified, "It was me", this time, Izzy's eyes widened.

"It was you?! But... the leglock curse is so complicated! How on earth did you accomplish that?"

"I just went over it several times until I got the hang of it", just as I finished saying this, I heard someone running off and looked behind me to see Rose running up to the Gryffindor table where James, Albus, and Hugo were sitting, "And my big mouth just revealed all that to my cousin..." I commented, just waiting for when James and Albus would come storming up to me to yell. However, they never did.

It wasn't until the next morning that I got a letter from my mum. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a regular letter. It was a howler.

"Lily Luna Potter!" it began once it became animated, "You were raised better than to set curses or jinxes on people, especially your brothers! If you do such a thing again or worse, you will be sent straight home!" once it finished, I watched as it tore itself apart. I kept my eyes on the spot where the howler had been. The rest of the house tables remained quiet, but the Gryffindor table errupted with laughter. I turned toward them and all but four stopped laughing. It wasn't often that I got in trouble with my parents, but I always had the fear of Merlin struck in me when I did. After breakfast, I went to hang out with Scorpius by the lake.

"Your brothers are bloody prats for telling your parents. Cowards, too", he commented once we were sat in front of the lake.

"I know... I never thought I'd get sent a howler", I agreed, still wondering why my brothers would tell our parents instead of simply confronting me. Then again, it seemed typical of a Gryffindor to go above themselves with their problems.

"I think they need another lesson taught to them", Scorpius smirked and I immediately understood what he meant.

"Scorp, you can't curse and jinx them again", I warned, afraid that he may get in trouble.

"Don't worry, Lil. I'll simply be reminding them that they can't mess with my closest friend", he smiled, turning to face the lake once again.

That Monday, the day came and went without any revenge against my brothers on Scorpius' part. I wanted to ask what he was up to, but decided to leave it alone and let him come up with his plot. When Tuesday morning came around, still nothing happened. In fact, it wasn't until lunch time that I heard laughter coming from the halls.

"What's that all about?" I asked Hannah while looking out into the corridor that led from the Great Hall. She said she didn't know, then did the same to try and see what the laughter was about. Seconds later, everyone saw a mini version of James running into the hall in an attempt to escape the laughter, only to be welcomed by more.

"Looks like Potter's had the Diminuendo curse put on him", a sixth-year Slytherin boy chuckled. Just as James ran back out of the hall, Scorpius came in and sat down next to me.

"That was you, wasn't it?" I whispered to him.

"I assure you I don't know what you mean", he smirked. A minute or so later, a Gryffindor third-year came running into the Great Hall.

"Has anyone seen Madame Pomfrey? Albus is throwing up slugs!" he exclaimed. No one said anything, but everyone at the Slytherin table started laughing. When the Gryffindor realized that no one was willing to help, he ran back out of the hall, presumably to look for Madame Pomfrey. I then looked to Scorpius with a smirk, and he had an amused look on his face as he looked back at me.

Luckily for Scorpius, no one found out that it was him who set the curses on my brothers. Also, I was rather lucky that no one pinned them on me. I was certain that by the looks I got from my family and other Gryffindors I was to blame, but I didn't get another howler or sent home. Besides, this time they had no proof against me. When I asked Scorpius why he chose the curses that he did, his explination was that James needed a decrease in his inflated head, and he just thought it would be funny to see Albus throwing up slugs for a while. I had to agree with both uses, knowing fully well that James thought he was the best at just about everything and Albus wouldn't be able to call anyone in Slytherin a snake- much less me- with slugs in his mouth.

I found myself very thankful for Scorpius and the fact that he was willing to stick up for me. However, after the second incident with my brothers, I noticed that a lot of Gryffindors were giving me nasty looks. But no matter how many looks I got, I kept my head up high because I wasn't going to let a bunch of Gryffindorks bring me down.


	6. The Malfoys

The weeks seemed to go by in a blur, aside from Quidditch games of which Slytherin won them all. My family's actions didn't bother me as much anymore because I always had a friend or two to turn to, and them mocking my house had gotten old to the point where I no longer cared. Scorpius and I had grown even closer over time, which meant that I would sometimes join him by the lake if he needed someone to talk to or just sit with. He didn't always need to talk to someone about what was going on in his life, but when he did, I was the first person he would turn to. It felt good to have someone almost depend on you to make them feel better, seeing as I had never really had that before. However, Scorpius is a very strong person, so it takes a lot for him to admit defeat and say that he needs help.

I feel for him because a lot of his problems stem from his grandfather's dissaproval. No matter what he does, Scorpius just doesn't seem to be good enough for Lucius. Even though Scorpius doesn't say it outloud, I know it bothers him deeper than he cares to admit. But even with his grandfather's never-ending hatred towards muggleborns and half-bloods, Scorpius doesn't let blood prejudice interfere with him making friends with whoever he wants. So at the end of the day, I know that he'll still be my closest friend and feel comfortable with confiding in me. Luckily, I've never had to deal with my parents or grandparents having hate towards those who are of different blood status, so I know that it doesn't matter to them that I'm friends with Purebloods.

Soon enough, it was time for the final Quidditch game before Christmas break. Of course, it would be Slytherin against Gryffindor. Since we had won four other games against them since the first, I was prepared to celebrate another win, as well as the rest of the team. When the day came, I was thankful for my goggles because that way the wind and snow wouldn't be too much of a problem for my sight. Another chaser, Raven Flint, seemed to think the same as he adjusted his goggles. Once both teams were out on the pitch and floating just above it, Madame Hooch walked to stand between myself and the better Gryffindor chaser with the quaffle. Just after she was stood in the middle of the pitch, the game began as the quaffle was thrown into the air and the snitch released.

In the first ten minutes, I was able to score Slytherin twenty points. The Gryffindors seemed very off their game with the wind blowing more in their direction, but for me, that was no excuse. I remember almost being blown off of my broom during a game against Hufflepuff, but I was still able to concentrate and gain as many points as possible before winning. So as the game went on for another hour, I couldn't help but wonder why Gryffindor was letting the weather effect them so much. Scorpius seemed to notice this as well as he floated over to me.

"Looks as though Gryffindor doesn't know what they're doing", he stated, looking over at the scoreboard which read that Slytherin had fifty points and Gryffindor had just ten. As a matter of fact, the only reason they scored at all was because their keeper had managed to block the quaffle only once when our third chaser had thrown it. It was always frustrating to see the other team score points, but this time, it didn't bother anyone as much.

Finally, after another hour of us scoring points and Gryffindor getting none, we decided to end the game by having Sean signal to Scorpius to look for the snitch. Five minutes later, Scopius flew quickly past the Gryffindor seeker and instantly grabbed the snitch. The game was over and with the Gryffindors fuming, Slytherin celebrated. After a long night of partying in the Slytherin common room, everyone had to get up early the next morning to leave for home. While I was excited to see my parents again, I was not excited to have to deal with my brothers and cousins more closely. Even with this on my mind, I decided to enjoy the train ride back home with just Scorpius in my compartment.

For the first half of the ride, we talked mindlessly about random things and ate sweets that we got off of the trolley. Then, Scorpius brought up something that I hadn't been expecting.

"My parents mentioned that they'd like to meet you. Do you think your parents would allow you to spend some time at my house for a day over break?" he asked, observing a card from the box of a chocolate frog.

"I'll certainly ask, I'd love to meet your parents. Maybe you could meet mine, as well", I suggested. He smirked at this.

"I would love to, Lily. As long as I also get to annoy your brothers with my presence", I laughed.

"Of course! There'd be no way of preventing it, anyway", I assured him. We then promised to write to each other to secure our plans once we spoke to our parents.

The train came to a stop about a half an hour later, so Scorpius and I stood to grab our trunks and shut the compartment door behind us. On the platform waiting for my brothers and I was our parents, smiles plastered on their faces.

"Mum, Dad!" I exclaimed, running towards them. As soon as I reached them, they both enveloped me in hugs and mum kissed the top of my head.

"So good to see you, flower", she stated, placing both hands on the sides of my face, "Just as beautiful as when you left", I blushed, but smiled.

"I missed you both so much", I assured them as I was pulled in for another hug from dad.

"We missed you too, Princess", he smiled, taking my trunk from me. Just then, James and Albus joined us and got nearly the same reactions from my parents as I had. I looked away and rolled my eyes, wishing I didn't have to live in the same house as them for two weeks. When I looked back before following my parents and brothers out to the car, I caught a quick glimpse of Scorpius and his parents and waved goodbye to him. He waved as well, signature smirk on his face.

When we got home, the five of us sat down to eat lunch and my parents immediately got started on asking questions about school.

"So how is your first year going, Princess?" Dad asked as he sat at the front end of the table.

"Really great, actually. I love it there what with my classes and all the friends I've made. Quidditch has been great, as well", I beamed, not at all bothered by the nasty looks both my brothers were giving me.

"That's really wonderful to hear, sweetie. Your father and I are very proud of you", Mum commented with a smile as she brought sandwhiches over to the table. After lunch, I went straight to my room to unpack and get reaquainted with my bed. Of all the things that I missed about home, my bed was what I missed the most next to my parents. It was a large, queen sized bed with a mess of pillows and a very comfortable comforter. As I was unpacking my trunk, a beautiful long-eared owl flew up to my window. I didn't recognize it, but opened my window anyway and retrieved the letter that was attached to its' leg. As soon as I opened the letter, the owl flew off and I immediately knew whose elegant script the letter was written in. It read:

Dear Lily Luna,

I hope you got home safely and are comfortable in your room, as I am. I just wanted to write you a quick note to let you know that my parents are delighted to meet you and would like to know if the fifteenth of December is a good date. Please let me know as soon as you can.

Your friend,

Scorpius Malfoy

I smiled to myself and folded the letter back up before running down the stairs to the family room where my parents and brothers were. I stopped in from of mum and dad before speaking.

"Mum, Dad, can I go over a friends' house on the fifteenth? He wants me to meet his parents", I stated, hoping they would say yes.

"Who's your friend, love?" Mum asked and my whole body froze.

"Scorpius Malfoy", I announced.

"You've got to be kidding me", James suddenly commented. I turned to him and glared.

"James, leave your sister alone. I don't mind you going over there. Do you, honey?" she asked dad.

"Not at all. He is your friend, after all", he assured with a smile. I smiled widely and thanked them before heading back up to my room to write to Scorpius. I wrote:

Dear Scorpius,

My parents said that the fifteenth is fine. I can't wait to meet your parents! See you then!

Your friend,

Lily Luna Potter

Fifteen minutes or so after I sent my letter, Scorpius' owl came to my window again and this time I gave him a pat on the head before taking the letter from him. Scopius was very happy to hear that my parents were okay with me coming over his house, and so was I. In fact, the fifteenth couldn't have come fast enough and when it did, I couldn't wait to have dinner with Scorpius and his parents as that was the plan. So at around five o'clock the night of, I said goodbye to my parents before flewing over to Scorpius' house. I arrived a moment later to a large fireplace in an even larger sitting room. As I looked around, I hadn't even noticed that Scorpius had walked into the room.

"Good to see you again, Lily", he smiled. I jumped slightly, not expecting to hear him.

"Good to see you too, Scor", I stated, walking up and giving him a tight hug.

"Come on, my parents have been dying to meet you", he commented, leading me into the dining room. As we walked in, I noticed his parents sitting at the table and got slightly nervous.

"Mum, Dad, this is Lily Potter", Scorpius introduced, causing them to simultaneously look over at me and smile. His mum was the first to stand and wrap me in a hug.

"Lovely to finally meet you, Lily", she smiled.

"Always nice to meet Scorpius' friends", his dad smiled as well, shaking my hand.

"It's great to meet you both", I assured with a smile of my own. We then sat down to eat and almost immediately, plates full of food showed up on the table. While my parents sometimes used magic at home, my mum was always the one to cook and put food on the table.

After everyone began eating, Mrs. Malfoy turned to me.

"So, Lily. How has your first year at Hogwarts been?" she asked.

"It's been really great. I love my classes and Quidditch has been a lot of fun", I responded.

"That's wonderful to hear. Scorpius told us you're the best chaser they've had", I blushed slightly.

"Well, I wouldn't say that", I admitted, turning to Scorpius. He simply smirked.

"Don't be modest, Lily. You did make the team your first year, after all", he commented.

"What's your favorite class, Lily?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"I absolutely love Potions and Transfiguration, but my Potion making skills aren't nearly as masterful as Scorpius'"

"I think you forget that I'm a third year, Lily. So it only makes sense that I would know a bit more than you, but I'm sure you'll catch up to me sooner or later", Scorpius added. As dinner progressed, I learned that Scorpius' parents were very nice and far different than what I had imagined when I was younger.

"It was really nice to meet you, Lily", his Mum commented when dinner was over, his Dad agreeing.

"I had a really great time", I smiled and said goodbye, following Scorpius back into the sitting room.

"What do you think?" he asked once we were by the fireplace.

"Your parents are really sweet", I assured him. We said our goodbye's and hugged one more time before I dissapeared for home.


	7. Presents

_Hi everyone! I hope you all are enjoying my story so far! Just wanted to say that there are pictures from this chapter on my profile that some of you may want to see once you finish reading. Thanks for taking the time to read this and please review if you can! xx_

When I got home from the Malfoy's, I found my parents in the family room playing a game of Wizard's Chess.

"Oh! How was meeting Scorpius' parents?" Mum asked once she saw me.

"It was great! They're really nice", I commented and noticed Dad's eyebrow raise. I suppose he was surprised to hear that Scorpius' father, more so than his mother, was nice to me. After I told my parents about how dinner went, I headed up to my room to get ready for bed. Once I pulled on my night clothes, I sat down on my bed and took out a book to read. I read for maybe an hour before deciding to go to sleep early.

Soon enough, it was Christmas Eve and for me that meant one thing; family time. I couldn't wait to see my grandparents and Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, but could go without having to deal with my cousins Rose and Hugo. So when they arrived at my grandparent's just a little while after us, I was less than estatic. I had been enjoying talking to my Grandpa Weasley when I felt the two of them staring at me. Looking up, I saw that they were giving me nasty looks before directing their attention to other family members.

"I see there's some tension between you and your cousins", Grandpa commented. I looked back to him and sighed.

"They hate me now because I'm in Slytherin", I mumbled.

"Oh, Lily. I very much doubt that they hate you, perhaps just dissapointed. After all, I think a lot of the family expected for you to be in Gryffindor"

"Even so, I didn't choose to be in Slytherin. If I had, maybe I could understand them ignoring me, but this is different. I was put in Slytherin for a reason and while I may not know what that reason is yet, the fact remains", he patted my leg then and smiled.

"You bring up a fair point, little flower. But don't you worry, your cousins and I assume your brothers will get over it one of these days", he assured, but I didn't feel so sure.

"But what if they don't?" I questioned, truly worried.

"They will. You've always been so close to them all, they're bound to come around", knowing he was probably right, I hugged him and thanked him for understanding. I then stood up to walk over to my Aunt and Uncle, giving them both tight hugs.

"How has school been, Lily?" Aunt Hermione asked. I smiled, trying not to show my annoyance from being asked the same question so many times since coming home.

"Great, actually. My classes and Quidditch are awesome, and I've made a few friends", I assured, making her smile brighter.

"I hear you were sorted into Slytherin?" Uncle Ron questioned. Not angry, just curious.

"Yes, and I couldn't be happier. I honestly didn't know what to expect at first, but I've managed to meet some amazing people", I smiled and so did he.

At dinner that night, I sat next to my Uncle George instead of Hugo like I always had. I didn't say much at the beginning, but soon Uncle George turned to me.

"I hear we have a serpent in the family", he smirked. I knew he didn't mean anything by it, so I didn't get angry at the nickname.

"That's right", I beamed, proud of my house.

"Well, congratulations little Lily. I also hear that you're the top chaser for Slytherin"

"I suppose you could say that. But all the winning has a lot to do with our seeker, he's amazing at what he does"

"I don't doubt that, but chasers are very important as well, Lily", he smiled and lightly nudged my arm. As dinner went on, I found myself quickly getting bored with the endless conversations about school and work. When dinner ended, I was stuffed and couldn't wait to go to bed and wake up for Christmas morning Once morning came around, I got up early and was the first one downstairs, even before my parents. I waited for what seemed like hours before they finally came down the stairs in their pajamas.

"Merry Christmas, Lily", they said in unison.

"Merry Christmas, Mum and Dad", I smiled. I had thought I would have to wait for my brothers to wake up, but Mum and Dad let me start opening my presents without them. I was onto my fifth present out of ten when James and Albus finally descended the stairs. Normally I would have told them 'Merry Christmas', but opted to continue unwrapping my presents. The presents that I had already discovered consisted of a variety of things, such as a months supply of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans and a charmed hair brush. However, my final and favorite present was what my mum most likely picked out; a beautiful emerald green and black lace mini dress.

"Thank you so much, Mum and Dad!" I exclaimed, standing up from the floor to give them both much-deserved tight hugs.

"You're very welcome, flower", Mum assured, kissing the top of my head. Just as I finished opening my presents, there was a light tapping at the window in the kitchen. I got up to see what it was and sitting outside the window was Scorpius' owl, Regal. When I opened the window to pet him, I saw something long wrapped up underneath his feet.

"What's this, Regal?" I wondered, taking the package from him. I ruffled his feathers once before he flew off, and that was when I noticed a small envelope wrapped tightly to the side of the package. The note inside read:

Dear Lily Luna,

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy what I picked out for you and use it well, as I know you will. Enjoy your day!

Your friend,

Scorpius Malfoy

I smiled to myself and looked back at the gift in my hands. For some reason, I hadn't already noticed that it was broom-shaped. I immediately got excited and ran into the family room with it.

"What's that, Lily?" Dad asked.

"I think it's..." I began as I unwrapped it, "a broom!" this caught both my brothers' attention, but I didn't bother looking at them because held in my hands was a Firebolt 2.0!

"Is that a Firebolt?" Mum asked, sitting closer to the edge of her seat to get a better look.

"Not just a Firebolt, Mum. A Firebolt 2.0! The best there is!" I exclaimed, and that was when I saw another note inside the wrapping paper. It read: 'Only the best for our best chaser'. I also noticed something carved into the side of the broom.

"It has my first and middle name on it, too!" I claimed excitedly.

"That's quite the gift, Princess. Who sent it?" Dad asked.

"Scorpius", I clarified, and James scoffed. However, I simply ignored him and stood up with my new broom in my hands.

"Can I go fly?" I asked, but Mum and Dad looked a bit skeptical, "Please?" I begged.

"Sure, sweetheart", Mum allowed, so I ran out of the house and mounted my broom the second my feet hit the grass. At first, the power behind the broom was almost too much to handle, but I quickly got used to it and really enjoyed the smooth ride. I flew around for a while longer until Mum called me in for lunch.

"How's your new broom, love?" she asked once I came in through the kitchen door.

"It's perfect! It rides great and I almost didn't come in, but all that flying made me hungry", I explained, taking a seat next to her at the table. I wanted to keep flying after I ate, but knew that I could damage my broom if I did. So I decided to go up to my room once I finished eating and sat down to write to Scorpius. I wrote him a quick note, saying thank you very much for the awesome new broom and I hoped to see him soon. However, I didn't mention that I would be getting him a present as well, seeing as I wanted him to be surprised like I was.

So the next morning, I asked Mum to take me shopping for him and we went to Diagon Alley. I hoped to find something as great as what Scorpius got me, but was having a lot of trouble doing so. I was about to give up after two long hours of looking when I came across a large store for young wizards, filled with tons of different things a wizard would like. I found it difficult to choose just one thing, until I saw the perfect present. I stared at it for a while, a large smile plastered on my face.

"Find something, Lily?" Mum asked as she walked up to me. She then looked in the direction that I was staring and smiled, "Is this what you've decided on?"

"Definitely. I think he'll love it, what do you think?" I wondered.

"I think you're right. Well, let's get it, shall we?" I nodded and Mum asked for someone working at the store to help us. A minute later, I was holding the perfect, Scorpius-esque jacket in my hands.

Once Mum and I got home, I carefully wrapped the jacket with beautiful Christmas themed wrapping paper and attached a note to it so that Scorpius knew it was from me. I then whistled for my owl and had her take the package in her beak before she flew off for Scorpius' house.


	8. Close Call

After I sent my Christmas present for Scorpius to his house, I recieved a letter from him thanking me for the jacket and also mentioning that he loved it. I was delighted to know that I had picked out such a great gift for him, even though the cost of the jacket probably wasn't anywhere close to that of the broom he got me. However, I knew that cost didn't really matter, it was the thought. Before I wrote him back, I remembered to ask my parents if I could have Scorpius over at some point so that they could meet him. I ran down the stairs and into the family room where both my parents and brothers were watching the television.

"Could I have a friend over this week?" I asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Sure, sweetheart. Who's your friend?" Mum wondered.

"Scorpius", I answered and in that moment, James stood from his seat.

"No way!" he exclaimed, fists at his sides.

"James..." Mum warned, but to no avail.

"There's so way in hell that _snake _is coming in this house!"

"I'm afraid that's not your decision, son", Dad added.

"Dad, you can't honestly be okay with a Malfoy being here", James retorted, clearly not ready to give up this argument. Ignoring this, Dad turned to me.

"Of course he can come over, Princess", he stated with a smile, so I smiled back and thanked him before running back upstairs. Scorpius and I made plans for him to come over on the twenty-eighth of December, and that day came faster than I thought it would.

"Welcome to my lovely home", I greeted once Scorpius appeared in the fireplace. I instantly smiled when I saw that he was wearing the jacket I had picked out.

"Thank you very much. Good to see you again, Lily", he smiled, pulling me in for a hug. The hug lasted longer than usual, which I figured was because we hadn't seen each other in a while. I then led him into the kitchen where my parents were sitting and talking at the table.

"Mum, Dad, this is Scorpius Malfoy", I introduced, causing them to turn toward us and smile.

"Great to finally meet you, Scorpius", Dad assured, shaking hands with him. Mum then stood and gave him a quick hug.

"We were starting to wonder when you would be coming around", she commented.

"Lovely to meet you both. Since I met Lily, I've always wondered what the people who raised such a wonderful young lady would be like", he smirked. I blushed slightly, even though I had already gotten used to how charming Scorpius could be.

Once dinner started, I wanted nothing more than to curse out my brothers because they wouldn't stop giving Scorpius dirty looks. When we were younger, before any of us started school, James would always talk about how he would jinx the son of Draco Malfoy if he so much as looked his way. This was right after our Dad told the three of us about his school days and what happened during the second Wizarding War. He wanted us to be prepared for when we started school because people might talk about him and our Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, so telling us early wouldn't cause confusion in the future.

Back then, I wasn't too bothered by James making remarks about Scorpius because I didn't know him then and thought that Draco was a bad guy. But now that I know different, I find it very annoying and frustrating that both James and Albus haven't even given Scorpius a chance. They just assume that he's a rotten person because of who his father used to be, when in reality he's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Thankfully though, my Dad broke throught the tension.

"So, Scorpius. How has school been for you?" he asked.

"It's been great, thank you", Scorpius smiled.

"I hear you do very well in Potions", Mum mentioned.

"I try my best", he answered modestly, but I wouldn't let him get away with just that.

"He's actually the best in his year, Mum. Very talented", I added and I could have sworn I saw Scorpius blush. The conversation then turned to Christmas.

"How was your holiday, Scorpius?" Mum wondered.

"It was very good, thank you. I spent some much-needed time with my parents and recieved some pretty amazing gifts. Particularly the jacket from Lily", he smirked, winking in my direction, "How was yours, Mrs. Potter?"

"Lovely, actually. Always wonderful to see my children", she smiled.

"Glad to know you enjoy your present from Lily, she absolutely loves hers from you", Dad added.

"I was hoping she would. Only the best for Slytherin's best chaser, after all", Scorpius smirked. The rest of dinner went well with Scorpius and my parents getting along and my brothers not being prats to him, aside from the dirty looks.

Once dinner was over, I led Scorpius back to the family room to say goodbye.

"I really enjoyed meeting your parents, Lily", he assured with a smile and one last hug.

"I'm glad and I hope you'll come around again", I smiled back.

"As long as you promise to come visit me"

"I promise", with this, we said goodbye and I went back into the kitchen where Mum and Dad were cleaning up.

"What did you think of Scorpius?" I asked.

"He's a lovely young man", Mum smiled.

"I couldn't agree more. I can see why you two became such good friends", Dad recognized, making me smile wider. Having my parents accept my closest friend meant a lot to me, especially considering I knew my father might be skeptical about the Malfoy heir. However, he as well as my mother was more accepting than I could have hoped for.

A week later, I was back at Hogwarts and ready to start playing Quidditch once again, especially with my new broom. We would be playing against Hufflepuff and while that was always an easy win, I knew that I still had to be serious about playing. After all, I had once misjudged Ravenclaw's abilities and nearly lost the game when their keeper successfully blocked a few of the shots I made with the quaffle. Luckily, I was able to get my head back in the game and rack up several points before Scorpius caught the snitch. I thought that Sean would be angry with me specifically, but he actually scolded the whole team, saying that we needed to not get so cocky to the point that we were starting to lose games. So after that, the team and I got back to pulling ahead of the other teams in every game.

When the game against Hufflepuff came up the Tuesday after we got back, I was more than ready to get out on the pitch and show Hufflepuff just which team was boss. It looked as though the rest of the Slytherin team was ready as well, judging from the excited looks on their faces when I walked into the guys' locker room. As soon as they all saw me, however, they were surprised by my new broom.

"Is that a Firebolt?" Raven Flint asked, walking up to me to get a better look at it.

"Yes it is. I got it for Christmas", I beamed, proud of my prized posession. I saw Scorpius smirk from the corner of my eye and turned to smile at him. Once everyone on the team was in the locker room, Sean had us sit down and gave a speech about what he expected from us in that day's game. As soon as he finished, we stood and made our way towards the exit.

As we flew out onto the pitch and circled around once, I forgot how much faster my broom was and nearly flew past the other chasers. Fortunately, I quickly got control of my broom and remained in my position. Once we were hovering just above the pitch, the Hufflepuff team came out and looked surprisingly confident when they landed across from us. This didn't faze me because I knew from experience that their confidence wouldn't last once the game began. In fact, as soon as the quaffle and snitch were released, I immediately grabbed the quaffle and scored our first ten points. After another thirty points were scored by me and Raven, the Hufflepuff team seemed at a loss of how they could possibly win this game.

Within a half an hour, the score was one-hundred and thirty to zero, with Slytherin in the lead. I almost felt sorry for Hufflepuff since they had no chance of catching up, but then remembered how much I wanted to win the Quidditch House Cup and no longer had any sympathy for them. Then, I saw from the corner of my eye that Sean gave Scorpius to okay to look for the snitch. I watched for a bit as he searched for it, eventually spotting it near the Ravenclaw stands. As he dove for the snitch, I helped score another twenty points before focusing more of my attention on Scorpius. That was when I noticed that the Hufflepuff seeker was actually ahead of him, just inches from the snitch.

The tension made me want to scream. However, I kept quiet and just watched the scene in front of me. As Scorpius sped up, I found that both teams had stopped playing to watch what would happen next. Soon, Scorpius and the Hufflepuff seeker, Vivian Young, were side-by-side. I could feel my heart begin to race and almost stop as Scorpius got closer and closer to the snitch, when the snitch suddenly turned and went underneath the Gryffindor stands. Scorpius and Vivian followed suit, dissapearing under the red and gold cloth. They stayed under there for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes before Vivian came flying out from under the stands along with her broom. She hit the ground hard, making the whole school gasp in shock.

Just seconds after Vivian came out, Scorpius flew out like lightning and up toward the Slytherin stands. Everyone stared at him, waiting to see what would happen next. He then looked toward our team and held out his arm, opening his hand and revealing the snitch in his palm! Loud applause and cheering errupted from the Slytherin side of the pitch, inlcuding the team. Ravenclaw soon joined in, but the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs of course remained silent. Even though we won and were excited to still be in the running for the Cup, a week after the game the Gryffindors were circulating rumors that Scorpius had shoved Vivian Young into falling off her broom. However, Slytherins knew better from Scorpius' account of what happened.

According to him, Vivian's broom had hit a wooden beam in the stands and went flying. You could even see the broken beam as proof. Not only that, but Scorpius always plays fair no matter what the circumstances. He may be a Slytherin, but that doesn't mean he has to play dirty just to win. Scorpius has pure talent that no one, not even Albus, can beat.


End file.
